Major Improvement in Dry, Drought Conditions in Minnesota

UNDATED (WJON News) -- A major improvement in the dry and drought conditions in Minnesota in this week's update from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

They say 39 percent of the state is still Abnormally Dry, an improvement from 59 percent a week ago. The Moderate Drought is now at just 11 percent, down from 36 percent last week. And, the Severe Drought is now down to zero, from 10 percent last week.

The dry areas remain in the northern and southeastern parts of the state.

Here in St. Cloud, we've had 7.78 inches of rain so far during the spring months, which is 2.73 inches above normal. April was the sixth wettest on record in St. Cloud.

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The Climate Prediction Center says the forecast for next week calls for continued wetter-than-normal conditions. The best chance for above-normal rain is up in northern Minnesota, where they need the rain the most.

So far this year, there have been 732 wildfires reported across the state, burning around 10,000 acres.

Leanne Langeberg is with the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center:

April brought in a little bit more precipitation, which has helped green up a lot of those grassland landscapes. And as we progress through green up, we tend to see fire activity transition to different field types like landscapes

Langeberg says that early on in the season, we saw above-normal fire activity.

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